Thread: Mexican passion crosses a border

http://www.oxfordpress.com/sports/conte ... 2_COX.html

Mexican passion crosses a border
By MIKE KNOBLER
Cox News Service
Monday, June 12, 2006
NUREMBERG, Germany — One day before the official U.S. soccer team's World Cup debut, the other U.S. team took the field.

That's Mexico, the squad so popular north of the border it outdraws the American team when it plays on U.S. soil.

Mexico's 3-1 victory over Iran on Sunday thrilled not only Mexicans, but also Americans like Octavio Marquez, a 30-year-old from Los Angeles who chatted with his friends in English as they strolled through Nuremberg proudly wearing their team's green jersey.

"My parents are from Mexico. It's cultural heritage, background, growing up as a kid," said Marquez, whose father used to take him to Mexico games. "I'll follow the U.S., too. It's more Mexico's in my blood."
Mexico's team makes a U.S. tour every year, the past two sponsored by Atlanta-based telecommunications company Cingular. The team's fan base is so big Cingular also signed Mexican player Pavel Pardo to a one-year deal as a Spanish-language spokesman.

"It's another step in our strategy of marketing heavily to the Hispanic community in the United States," Clay Owen, Cingular's senior director of media relations, said in a telephone interview. "[Soccer] is the passion of so many nations, including Mexico, and so much of the Hispanic community comes from Mexico, and we really feel like this is a great way to reach out to them."

Soccer-crazed Cingular subscribers can get a unique ring tone — a broadcaster calling "G-o-o-o-o-o-o-a-l!"

Spanish-language broadcaster Univision televises Mexico's World Cup games in the United States, and Spanish-language dailies La Opinion in Los Angeles and Al Dia in Dallas cover the Mexican team at the World Cup the way most U.S. papers cover the American team. In Atlanta, Journal-Constitution-owned El Mundo Hispanico carries the latest news on the Mexican team, too.

Pardo's in-laws live in Los Angeles. He has aunts, uncles and cousins in the United States, too. And then there's his Spanish-speaking friend in Atlanta, Adaliz Vicen of Cingular's marketing department. So many Mexican players have American friends and relatives, and the U.S. fan support for the team is so strong, that Pardo said his teammates love to play in Estados Unidos.

"We feel like we are at home," Pardo said.

That became an issue when the United States had to choose a site for last year's World Cup qualifying home game against Mexico. The Orange County (Calif.) Register reported that the governing body of U.S. soccer studied a demographic map before choosing Columbus, Ohio, far from the homes of most Mexican-Americans.

The atmosphere at the 22,555-seat stadium was much different than it would have been had the game been played in a larger stadium in Los Angeles or Houston.

"We played Mexico in the [Los Angeles] Coliseum one time, and the fans got pretty nasty," U.S. player Josh Wolff said last month.
"They do the games in the north of the United States [now] because there aren't many Mexicans," Pardo said with a smile.

On Sunday, Omar Bravo scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 76th minute. Pardo set up the first with a free kick that Guillermo Franco headed to Bravo, who put it away from just in front of the far side of the net. Iran got an equalizer from Yahya Golmohammadi and appeared to be playing for a draw after halftime, but a turnover just outside the penalty area set up Bravo's second goal.

That and Zinha's insurance goal set off singing and flag-waving from the large Mexican majority of the 42,600 fans at the Franken-Stadion. Every victory for Mexico also is a victory for Cingular, in light of its sponsorship deals. But it's not necessarily a victory for Cingular's Owen. For the sake of his marriage, he's backing his wife's country.

"I'm pulling for England," Grainne Owen's husband said.


Mike Knobler writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We played Mexico in the [Los Angeles] Coliseum one time, and the fans got pretty nasty," U.S. player Josh Wolff said last month.
"They do the games in the north of the United States [now] because there aren't many Mexicans," Pardo said with a smile.

They can take their "passion" back over the southern border. Is that the new PC term for violent agressive behavior?

Just another instance of the "gringo hating" Latinos who show where their real allegiance lies...south towards El Bushero's home country.